Jay-Z's Master Recordings at Center of Alleged Extortion Plot

A producer named Chauncey Mahan recently emerged with the tapes, which Jay-Z and his team thought were lost in 2002, and asked the rapper a $100,000 'storage fee.'

Photo credit: C.Smith/WENN

Master recordings by Jay-Z are at the center of an alleged theft and extortion plot, TMZ has reported. The recordings were made for the rapper's Roc-A-Fella Records in late '90s until early 2000s. They went missing in 2002 and were thought to have been lost.

However, producer Chauncey Mahan who worked with Hova during that time period recently emerged with the tapes. He contacted the "99 Problems" hitmaker's camp and told them he would auction the tapes or give them back for a $100,000 "storage fee."

After agreeing to $75,000, Mahan went to the storage facility on Friday, April 18. The producer was reportedly detained for questioning by LAPD whom Jay-Z's team had previously contacted. The LAPD will remain in possession of the recordings until a judge decides who has rightful ownership.

According to TMZ, the tapes are worth between $15 and $20 million. Although Mahan hasn't been arrested, Jay Z's representatives have apparently filed a grand larceny complaint with the NYPD. Meanwhile, the Beverly Hills police department is investigating Mahan for possible extortion.